Former Bush National Security Adviser: ‘The Arab Spring Turned Out to Be Less Spring’ – Should Be Called ‘Arab Awakening’

FILE - In this Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2011 file photo, a Yemeni protestor holds a dagger and chants slogans during a demonstration demanding the prosecution of President Ali Abdullah Saleh in Sanaa, Yemen.(AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)

(CNSNews.com) – Former national security adviser Stephen Hadley, speaking at the annual conference of the World Affairs Councils of America on Friday, said that “the Arab Spring turned out to be less spring” and the better term to describe it is “the Arab Awakening.”

“The Arab Spring turned out to be less spring. Probably the better term is the Arab Awakening, and we’re going to go through springs and winters and summers and falls, and it’s going to vary country to country, and it’s going to take a long time, but look, it was inevitable, unavoidable, and actually a good thing that the people of the Arab world should start taking some responsibility for their future,” said Hadley, who succeeded Condoleezza Rice as national security adviser to President George W. Bush.

The host of the conference asked Hadley for what he sees as the next steps with regard to Iran. “How do we see that unfolding in the time ahead, and then what’s the way forward with Syria?”

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Hadley said “Arab Awakening” is a better term to use to describe the “Arab Spring,” because the Middle East will go through springs, winters, summers and falls and will vary from country to country. “It’s going to take a long time, but look, it was inevitable, unavoidable, and actually a good thing that the people of the Arab world should start taking some responsibility for their future,” Hadley said.

“And there’s just no going back, and it is very much in our interest how these awakenings come out and that they result in societies that are democratic, that are producing a better life for their people, and we should do everything we can in a smart way, recognizing we’re not so popular in the Middle East right now to try to help get that outcome,” he added.